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The present invention relates to the remote control of heavy equipment over a data network such as the Internet and in particular to providing control signals for controlling one or more moveable elements of a piece of heavy equipment over the data network and providing a visual representation of the position of the moveable elements.
Construction projects require skilled operators to operate the necessary heavy equipment. Often, even in urban and suburban areas there may be a dearth of skilled heavy equipment operators. In addition, some projects may be located in remote locations that have few if any skilled heavy equipment operators and that may be inconvenient or dangerous for the human operators. This lack of skilled heavy equipment operators can lead to delays in construction projects, lost income to the construction companies and contractors, and increased costs to the consumer.
In some circumstances it may be possible to have a human operator control a piece of heavy equipment remotely. Safe remote operation of heavy equipment is typically accomplished by having the human operator control the heavy equipment within visual range by using a controller that is either hardwired into the controls of the heavy equipment or linked using radio frequency into the controls of the heavy equipment. However, current remote control systems use expensive high bandwidth data links that drive up the cost of these systems. In some instances, human operators are unable to be within visual distance of the heavy equipment and in these instances, the monitoring of the heavy equipment has required even larger bandwidth to allow visual images to be provided to the operator.
In other instances, the use of the heavy equipment may require logging of particular movements for the purposes of maintaining maintenance records or in keeping records of the amount and type of material moved by the heavy equipment.
Accordingly, it would be advantageous for a system that allows the remote operation of heavy equipment by an operator and includes a visual representation of the heavy equipment to allows the operator to monitor the position of the heavy equipment and provides for storage of the operational/movement data.
A system to control a backhoe or other piece of heavy equipment at a remote location via a data network is disclosed in which movement instructions are generated by a user via a graphical user interface at a user PC, or generated autonomously by a computer programmed by the user. The movement instructions are provided via the data network to a programmable controller interfaced to the data network and the hydraulic movement systems of the heavy equipment. The graphical user interface includes a visual representation portion and a user control portion. A visual representation of the one or more moveable elements of the heavy equipment is provided to the user via the graphical user interface, and the user inputs real time movement instructions or programs a series of movement instructions via the user control portion of the graphical user interface or other programmable input.
In one embodiment, an apparatus for a user to remotely control a piece of heavy equipment such as a backhoe via a data network is disclosed. The backhoe includes a boom arm, a dipper arm, and a bucket each of which is controlled by a corresponding electrically controlled hydraulic movement system. The apparatus includes a user personal computer that has a graphical user interface that is operable to receive real time or programmed movement instructions from the user, or autonomous movement instructions generated by the user PC, remote PC, or a server, and to display a visual representation of the backhoe. The positioning of the various moveable elements in the visual representation of the backhoe is achieved using position data provided by a data generator. The user personal computer is coupled to the data network and transmits movement instructions over the data network. A remote personal computer coupled to the data network at a remote location receives the movement instructions from the data network. The remote personal computer is coupled to a first wireless modem and is able transmit the movement instructions to a second wireless modem that is coupled to a programmable controller. The programmable controller receives the real time or programmed movement instructions and translates these movement instructions into electrical control signals. These electrical control signals are routed and coupled to the one or more hydraulic movement systems that correspond to the one or more moveable elements identified in the movement instruction. In this way, the particular moveable element identified in the movement instruction is actuated and moved in the desired direction. A data generator coupled to the user personal computer provides position data corresponding to the movement instructions, wherein the visual representation of the moveable elements of the backhoe is updated using the position data.
Other features, aspects, and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the Detailed Description of the Invention in conjunction with the drawing.